In dentistry, implants mean implanting an artificial tooth into a dental bone. A dental root formed of titanium is implanted into an alveolar bone, and then an artificial tooth is fixed thereon to recover the function of the original tooth.
In the case of general prostheses and dentures, surrounding teeth or bones are damaged over time, but in the case of implants, peripheral dental tissues are not damaged, and no caries arise while having the same function and shape as natural teeth. Accordingly, the implants can be used semi-permanently.
Also, implants may facilitate the recovery of a single missing tooth and improve the function of an artificial tooth for a partially or completely edentulous patient, and may improve dental prosthesis recovery in terms of aesthetic. Furthermore, implants disperse an excessive stress applied on tissues of a support bone therearound.
Implants include a surgery operation which implants a fixture into a gingival bone, i.e., an alveolar bone, and a prosthetic operation which mounts an artificial tooth by connecting an abutment to the fixture.
An example of the prosthetic operation will be described below. In a typical prosthetic surgery, a fixture is implanted into an alveolar bone, and after a certain period (about three to six months) for osseointegration, an impression copping is screwed into a hole of an upper portion of the fixture. Thereafter, an impression copping fixing screw (guide screw) is inserted into an upper portion of the impression copping to secure the impression copping and the fixture, and then surrounding teeth and the above-described parts are coated with an impression material. The impression copping fixing screw projecting from the impression material is then unscrewed to obtain an impression in which the impression copping separated from the fixture is fixed. Thereafter, the impression copping in the impression is coupled with a virtual fixture (analog), and is fixed with the impression copping fixing screw. Thereafter, plaster is filled in the impression to be hardened, and then the impression copping fixing screw is unscrewed to remove the impression and the impression copping, remaining a plaster model. Thereafter, an abutment is coupled to the plaster model, and a crown (artificial tooth) is formed on the abutment. However, there is a limitation in that since the impression is primarily formed on the upper portion of the fixture within a certain period after the implantation of the fixture into the alveolar bone, the analog is twice coupled to the impression copping and the abutment, resulting in poor bonding due to abrasion of the analog. Also, the prosthetic surgery is not economical because the disposable impression copping used in the surgery should be discarded.
Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0014027 discloses a dental implant material including a silver or silver alloy layer with a nanometer or micrometer thickness formed on at least a portion of the surface of the dental implant material. Thus, an abutment screw of the dental implant material is improved in a unscrew protection function, and can show an anti-bacterial effect that can prevent bacterial infection. Also, an abutment of the dental implant material can show an anti-bacterial effect that can prevent bacterial infection, and can prevent peri-implantitis.
Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0671710 discloses an implant driver with a free angle, including a power combination unit for mounting a handle or a handpiece to a power shaft delivering a rotation force; a rotation force delivering unit delivering the rotation force to a work shaft of a driver; a driver performing a work on the work shaft; and a path guiding unit for guiding from the power shaft to the work shaft.
Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0842096 discloses a block body becoming an abutment, an upper artificial tooth structure, or a complex body of the abutment and the upper artificial tooth structure through machining, and including a connection part that prevents rotation upon combination with a fixture or a dental prosthesis on one side thereof, in which a connection structure is formed in a dental implant abutment and an upper structure.